Deputies: Man fatally shoots self after domestic incident

5-hour standoff ends near Lake Helen

An armed man who threatened his girlfriend Monday night and then kept responding Volusia County Sheriff's deputies at bay for more than four hours has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, deputies said.

The caller told dispatchers that 40-year-old Shawn Lee Norris had been drinking and had threatened her with a knife earlier in the evening and also had a shotgun that he had fired inside the residence, a news release said.

Investigators said while on the phone with dispatchers, the woman said that she thought that Norris had left the residence.

Once responding deputies learned that Norris was out of the house and on foot, they called in K-9 units and a Sheriff's Office helicopter for additional assistance.

About an hour later, the helicopter was flying over the scene and located Norris sitting in a wooded area at an abandoned paintball field north of the residence.

Deputies said they saw Norris stand up and then crouch back down several times while hiding in a large barrel.

A few minutes later, while deputies were moving in closer, a gunshot rang out from the field, according to the news release.

Authorities said a deputy returned fire in self-defense with a single shot that did not strike Norris.

Deputies said they were unable to safely get close enough to determine whether Norris had shot himself.

According to investigators, after the shots were fired, there initially was no movement, but then Norris started to move around, getting up and staggering around for a while and then sitting back down while still holding the shotgun.

A short time later, the Sheriff's Office's SWAT Team was called to the scene to help contain the situation and make contact with Norris.

Deputies said after 2 a.m. on Tuesday units managed to reach Norris and he was airlifted to Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City with a self-inflicted shotgun wound. He was pronounced dead at the hospital at 3:08 a.m.

The girlfriend sustained minor injuries during the confrontation with her boyfriend, and no one else was in the residence.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the deputy's actions, which is standard procedure when an officer fires his weapon.